2018 World Cup: French optimism reborn

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The sport proves nothing. Everybody knows it.

Winning the World Cup does not mean that France is ready to gain confidence in itself, which will result in economic growth and contentment for all.

. In 1998, France won for the first time the World and the experts prematurely proclaimed the emergence of a new multicolored nation. Nobody is so naïve this time.

The victory does not even have a particular message for the health of French football

True, the system has produced a prodigious new generation of players – much like the young superstar Kylian Mbappé born in the suburbs of # 39, high immigration or suburbs . And by general consensus, Didier Deschamps as manager was a triumph with a soft voice.

But let's be honest: any of a half-dozen countries could have won the World Cup. In the end, the victory also depends on luck and timing, and the fact that a ball bends inside or outside a goal post

It is France who had the breaks. But as everyone knows, it does not prove anything.

And yet …

Tonight, as the country climbs bars and streets to celebrate, these are precisely the three main emotions: trust, unity and football pride

For a quarter of a century, France loses her confidence in herself. And then last year – since the election of President Emmanuel Macron – there was a turnaround

Well of optimism

It would be foolish to attribute this to Mr. Macron alone – he is certainly not a universally popular figure. Perhaps it is better to see the president personify a change in society as a whole, as a younger and more adaptable generation takes the reins.

Whatever may be, no one can confuse cautious optimism with France today. welcome as it is unusual. Most likely this is helped by comparison with other countries – say the United Kingdom – which seem to be on a downward curve of the French.

But the pleasure of the misfortune of others remains a pleasure – and for the first time in years, people in France seem to feel (relatively speaking) good about themselves.

To this is added a new feeling of non-aggressive but uncomplicated patriotism in France that probably owes a great deal to the terrorist attacks of the past three years.

The tricolor flies from the windows of houses; enlistment for the armed forces is rising; the far-right no longer claims to the monopoly of the symbols of the nation

Rally of the nation

In football, the country has found it easy to join a team that projects both ethnic diversity and patriotic fervor. Kylian Mbappé, a child of Cameroonian-Algerian parents, told Le Monde that he only wanted to embody France, represent France and give everything to France.

Striker Antoine Griezmann made a similar outing on Friday "We should be proud to be French, life in France is good, we eat well, we have a beautiful country and a great national team" . silences during the singing of the Marseillaise .

Indeed, the victory in Russia draws a last line under a dark period of French football, culminating in the famous "strike-on-the-bus" in South Africa eight years ago. There has been a long and constant fight under Deschamps but today, the national team is back in the lead.

In the last six World Cups, France has played three times in the final and won twice. This is no small feat, and a tribute to the way the nation feeds and keeps its talent. The wonderboys suburb can leave for rich clubs in England and Spain, but they go home when it counts.